Surgery on my ankle went without a hitch. Well, apart from the inconveniences that are associated with not being able to walk and the pain that goes along with it. Its been since surgery that it's been one hassle after another. I wont even go into the ordeal with the bitch of a nurse I had to deal with when my cast split my incision open. No, I've vented about it and I have moved on to realize that some people are just not cut out for their job.
Carrying on. My cast again began tearing into my flesh today. I don't know why it happened again. All I know is that it wasn't pleasant and I wanted it off as soon as possible. Being the weekend my doctor's office was closed. So I called the doctor on call. Who told me to try cutting the splint off myself and rearranging things to pad the sore spot. Seems like a bad idea, but OK..what the hell. Needless to say, this proved fruitless and the splint was hell bent on torturing my flesh like it had a personal vendetta against me. The doctor's next suggestion was going to the ER to have it re-casted. I figured I would cut out the middle man and go to urgent care and save the ER staff for people who had legitimate emergencies. So nice and thoughtful of me.
Except that I should have just gone to the ER. It was apparent fairly quickly that the physicians assistant at urgent care was clueless as to what to do. I tried to explain and demonstrate what was needed. I showed him my broken cast and told him he just needed to recreate that. "OH!" he says, "I can do that!" He proceeds to throw my broken splint in the trash can and says he will be right back with the materials.
I sat and waited with my uncovered foot just dangling there for a good twenty minutes before he comes back to announce that he can't find the materials for casting but has a good alternative. He smiles broadly like he's a genius and shows me a USED cam boot. It took me a second to get my bearings enough to tell him that it wouldn't work. Not just because it would lay right into the foot long incision that's running up my leg..but also because I wasn't interested in getting a raging infection from a dirty old cam boot just laying against my incision. I adamantly refuse this treatment and he says he will call the physician to find out where the supplies are to make the cast.
At this point I really am thinking I am in over my head. After sitting for forty more minutes, I realize I am in over my head. He walks in and says, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news but I can't seem to get in touch with the physician." Hmmmm....as his phone is buzzing in his pocket audibly.
This is where it gets good....
He proceeds to pull my broken cast out of the garbage (ya know, the garbage can thats harboring a fuck ton of bacteria and body fluids from other patients) and says, "I am just gonna put this back on and you can go to the emergency room and have them do it." Oh no Dr. Mengele...you wont put that back on my leg. I would rather take my wheelchair out of here with an uncovered ankle than let him touch me anymore.
Kendrick so lovingly puts himself between the doctor of horror and me and wraps my leg up in an ace bandage and wheels me away. On the way out the door all I asked him if he was charging my insurance. He looked flustered and replied, "uhhh....nooo...noooo."
I will be keeping an eye out for that bill.
So we went to Walgreens to get some supplies to try to rig this until I can see my doctor. I stay in the car thinking about what just happened, wondering if I took a hit of acid without knowing it when out of the corner of my eye I see a guy, a blind guy, standing a few feet from my car...He's drunk, and screaming at someone I cant see. Suddenly, he turns around and walks full on into my car. Instead of turning around he just proceeded to smack the car the whole length with his walking stick until he was past it.
Ken came out just after..all I could say was, "please just take me home."
